ISTANBUL, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police seized 1.3 tons of cannabis on Saturday in two major operations carried out at the Tekirdag Customs Area on the Sea of Marmara and the Ipsala Border Gate with Greece in Edirne province, authorities announced.
According to a statement from the Trade Ministry, customs enforcement and intelligence teams from the Tekirdag and Ipsala directorates launched the operations following risk analysis and targeting efforts. The teams monitored suspicious vehicles entering Türkiye through the customs checkpoints.
Detailed searches resulted in the discovery of 1.153 tons of cannabis at the Tekirdag Customs Area and 173 kg at the Ipsala Border Gate, totaling 1.326 tons.
Officials said the seized drugs have an estimated market value of about 809 million Turkish liras (roughly 19.3 million U.S. dollars).
Investigations into the incident are being carried out under the coordination of the Tekirdag and Ipsala Chief Public Prosecutor's Offices.
During the current cabinet term, which began in 2023, authorities have seized approximately 216 tons of narcotics and 243 million drug pills as part of ongoing nationwide efforts to combat narcotics-related crime, according to figures released by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. Turkish security forces have also dismantled 328 organized drug trafficking networks and arrested 87,912 drug dealers during the same period. ■
